I recently spent my birthday at Hoh Campground, and it was (surprisingly) a little too wild for me.
When I first arrived to the campground, most of the sites were occupied by families having campfires.
I had been hoping to find some peace and quiet, so I left, and came back after everyone else had gone to bed.
While I set up my tent under my red headlight, I had this extremely creeped out feeling that a large cat was watching me.
Within two minutes of climbing into my tent, I heard something very large walk directly up to my tent.
This creature was not using any kind of headlamp or flashlight, and it was the most pitch black atmosphere I'd ever experienced in my life.
If it were a bear, it likely would have been frightened off by my activity. If it were a deer, it likely would have walked into my tent-- deers have terrible night vision, and this has happened to me before.
That's how I know it was a cougar.
Needless to say, I had a little trouble getting to rest. I've never heard of a cougar attacking someone inside of their tent-- a cougar likes to be able to see what it's pouncing on.
But, you know, there's a first time for everything. And I have heard of cougars attacking people in just bivies or bags.
And, now that I think about it (at 2am in the middle of the rainforest), a lot of the cougar attacks I've read about were actually in Olympic National Park.
I heard a scream which I recognized as the scream of a squirrel in the jaws of a large cat. I've seen a bobcat catch a squirrel right in front of me.
The cry starts out loud and alarming, but quickly loses its volume and motivation.
I heard this same cry five times over the course of the night.
Happy birthday to me-- it must be the year of the Cougar. read more